VANCOUVER — Head coach Jesse Marsch was using Alphonso Davies “as a decoy” after saying he expected the captain would play for Canada in Wednesday’s crucial FIFA World Cup match against Switzerland.
Davies, who has been sidelined with an injury, was on the bench but didn’t play in Canada’s 2-1 loss before a sold-out crowd of 52,497 at BC Place Vancouver.
“Alphonso wasn’t ready yet, so I was using him a little bit as a decoy,” Marsch said after the game. “He will be ready for the next match.”
Marsch was asked if he thought his ploy worked.
“I listened to their news conference (and they) had three questions about Alphonso Davies, so they at least had to prepare for that,” Marsch said.
Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin was asked what he thought about Marsch’s tactic.
“You always have to plan with the captain,” Yakin said through an interpreter. “You have to look at different games and different styles. You have a sense of the substitutes too.
“Of course, we looked at Davies during this tournament but we didn’t only prepare for individual players. Right now, we only react to what’s happening on the pitch.”
Marsch sounded confident Tuesday that Davies would come into the match as a substitute.
“We will evaluate what we need of him in the game,” Marsch said. “I would like to get him into the match, for sure. And I think that he can have a big impact, both on us physically and football wise, but also mentally, psychologically, to have our captain back, our best player back in the team. I think this is a big factor.”
The Swiss took a 2-0 lead in the match before Canada fought back with a goal from Promise David in the 76th minute.
With time ticking down, and Canada trailing by a goal, Marsch elected to bring in Jacob Shaffeburg with his final substation.
The loss meant Canada finished second in Group B and will play Group A’s runner-up Sunday in Los Angeles.
After the game Davies walked through the mixed zone with a cellphone pressed to his ear. He did not stop to talk to the media.
The 25-year-old wing back has not played since early May when he suffered a hamstring injury playing for Bayern Munich in a Champions League semifinal.
Davies hasn’t played for Canada since a ligament injury during Nations League play against the United States in March 2025.
He joined the national squad in Edmonton at the end of May and followed return-to-play protocols, including warming up with teammates during Tuesday’s training session and running and passing balls.
Davies didn’t dress for Canada’s 1-1 opening World Cup draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12. He was on the bench for a 6-0 win over Qatar on June 18 in Vancouver.
Davies has a connection with Vancouver. He was just 15 years old when he made his professional debut with Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps.
Born in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled civil war in Liberia, he grew up in Edmonton. He was 14 when he signed with the Whitecaps’ academy.
His professional debut was June 1, 2016, when he came on in the 72nd minute of a Canadian Championship game against the Ottawa Fury. At 15 years, 212 days old at the time, he was the youngest player to appear in a game for the `Caps.
Davies signed his first professional contract in July of that year, a multi-year deal with Vancouver that made him the youngest active player in MLS. He played his first league game the next day, seeing 13 minutes of action against Orlando City.
During parts of three MLS seasons Davies made 65 appearances, scoring eight goals.
Davies earned his first call-up with the national team in June 2017 shortly after receiving his Canadian citizenship.
He’s scored 15 goals and had 17 assists in 58 appearances for Canada.
Davies made Canadian soccer history when he scored the country’s first-ever World Cup goal in a December 2022 group-stage match against Croatia.
Davies left Vancouver in July 2018 when Bayern acquired him in a record-breaking transfer worth up to US$22 million.
During his time in the German Bundesliga, Davies helped Bayern to six league titles, a UEFA Champions League title and a FIFA Club World Cup title.
Davies has struggled to stay healthy.
His latest injury was his third since he returned Dec. 8 from a 260-day layoff from a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee.
He was sidelined Feb. 22 to March 9 with a muscle fibre tear, then from March 11 to April 2 with a right hamstring injury.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.
The Canadian Press
